Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/80

72 DOCUMENTS. but in the fur trade, and the whale fisheries, there is in the one little capital, in the other, none. Under the strongest belief that, by a new organization of the system of Indian trade, comprehending a settlement on the Columbia river, that great benefits would result to the citizens of the Republic, whilst the aborigines would be better pro- tected and provided for, by instructing them in agriculture and the minor branches of the mechanic arts, the Committee ask leave to report a bill. The bill is as follows: Be it enacted, &c, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized and required, to occupy that portion of the territory of the United States on the waters of the Columbia river, and to extinguish the Indian title to a district of country not exceeding miles square, on the borders of said river, in the region of tide water; and that - acres of land be allowed to each actual settler, being the head of a family, and to each unmarried man, between the age of eighteen and forty-five years, who shall establish himself in said district, and cultivate ground therein within years after the Indian title shall be extinguished thereto. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President shall prescribe regulations for the government of said district, and the administration of justice therein, and appoint the neces- sary officers for carrying the same into effect. Sec. 3. And ~be it further enacted, That the President be authorized to open a port of entry, as soon as he shall deem it expedient, within the said district, and to appoint custom- house officers for the regulation of the same ; from and after which time the revenue laws of the United States shall be ex- tended over said district, and be of full force therein. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the President be authorized and required to appoint agents for the Indian tribes on the waters of the Columbia, nnd to fix the salaries of the agents so appointed, not exceeding the salary now allowed to the agent to the Indians on the Upper Missouri: and that from and after such appointment, all laws of the United States